Chasing Cars
by alisonmichal
Summary: This is set in All Hell Breaks Loose in season 2 of Supernatural, where Sam gets taken by the Yellow-Eyed Demon.
1. Chapter 1

_So here's another one in the Family series, but you don't have to read the others to know what's going on. This is back in season 2 of Supernatural, All Hell Breaks Loose, so I hope you enjoy._

* * *

Alec was stretched out across the backseat of the Impala, dozing off and on. He'd taken over the backseat of the Impala and now, even when it was his turn to be upfront, he still chose to stay in the back. He didn't really know why he liked it, but it felt like his own space and he'd never really had that before.

Sam was driving and Dean was asleep in the passenger seat. They didn't have another case yet, so Alec didn't even know where they were going. It didn't matter though; he was with two people that actually cared about him.

He watched the lights flash by on the roof of the car as they drove past. He couldn't stop thinking about how Sam and Dean had taken care of him when the seizures had hit. They hadn't judged him for his weakness or complained about the cost of the pills they had bought him. They were only concerned about him and they wanted to make sure he was going to be ok.

_"If I lay here_

_If I just lay here_

_Would you lie with me and just forget the world?"_

The song on the radio suddenly caught Alec's attention; it wasn't what was usually played in Dean's car.

_"I don't quite know_

_How to say_

_How I feel"_

Well, the words definitely seemed to fit for Sam and Dean. Alec didn't like to share his feelings, but Dean would avoid sharing at all costs.

_"Those three words_

_Are said too much_

_They're not enough"_

Alec glanced up to the front seat to see Sam turning the volume down a little.

"What the hell?" Dean grumbled after a moment. Apparently he could sense that his radio was being used for something other than classic rock.

Alec saw Sam grimace, but he didn't say anything in reply.

"Sam, what the hell are you playing in my car?" Dean asked, sounding more awake.

"It's not a bad song…" Sam defended.

"I told you no emo crap in my car," Dean continued

"Isn't your rule 'Driver picks the music, shotgun shuts his cakehole?" Sam said with a pointed look at Dean.

Alec couldn't see Dean's face, but he almost couldn't hold in the chuckle at Sam using what he knew was one of Dean's own phrases.

Dean was quiet for a moment. "Alright, new rule…now that there are three of us, we can take a vote…"

Alec quickly closed his eyes as Dean looked back at him. Alec held his breath as Dean's gaze swept over him.

"Quit faking!" Dean said after a moment and he smacked Alec on the stomach.

Alec grunted in surprise, but he slowly sat up with a smile on his face. "How'd you know?"

"People usually breathe when they're sleeping…" Dean said; a smile spreading across his face.

"Alright, good point," Alec muttered and Dean reached over and messed up his hair before turning back around.

Dean switched off the radio, but Sam immediately turned it back on.

"Sam…" Dean growled out in warning.

"I thought we were going to take a vote," Sam replied with a smile.

"We did, Alec's on my side," Dean stated.

"I think I missed that part…" Alec muttered.

At the same time Sam said, "He is not! He's on my side!"

"Sam-"

"Just because you two look alike, doesn't mean he likes the same music as you," Sam interrupted.

"He has good taste, which means he likes _my_ music," Dean replied.

"This is ridiculous, flattering, but definitely ridiculous," Alec said to no one in particular.

Dean turned around and asked, "Do you like this song?"

"What? I'm sorry, I didn't think you were talking to me," Alec replied with a smirk.

Dean rolled his eyes, but he got Sam to chuckle.

"Alright, find somewhere to eat, I'm starving," Dean said after a moment, effectively dropping the subject for now.

"Dean, we're in the middle of nowhere," Sam answered.

"C'mon Sammy, you know you're hungry too," Dean stated with certainty.

"I know _I_ could eat," Alec threw in.

Sam rolled his eyes and admitted, "Fine, I'm hungry…"

"There'll be something soon, just keep an eye out," Dean said as he leaned back against the seat and closed his eyes again. Dean had been driving the majority of the trip and he looked exhausted, but it was still a fight for Sam to take over driving.

Alec would be happy to drive, but he only ever joked about it. He didn't want to push his luck and ruin everything by badgering them about it. Besides, he didn't even think he should be trusted with something that special to Dean. He was a disaster just waiting to happen; he still didn't think he should be around Sam or Dean. Bad things happened to the people he cared about.

It didn't take long for Sam to find a little cafe off the road. The place looked tiny and there was only one truck in the parking lot. Alec hadn't noticed before, but it was raining and the parking lot was mostly puddles and mud.

Sam parked, but neither Dean nor Alec moved to get out and Sam glanced over at both of them. "Are you going to get out of the car?"

"It doesn't really make sense for all of us to get mud all over our shoes…" Alec replied.

"And since you made us listen to crap on the way here, I think you should have to get the food," Dean said with a smile. "And don't forget the extra onions this time, ok?"

Sam grabbed some money from Dean and complained, "Dude, we're the ones who have to ride in the car with your extra onions."

Dean just smiled as Sam got out, but before he closed the door he called out, "See if they've got any pie!" Sam just glared at him and closed the door. "Bring me some pie!...I love me some pie…"

Dean scooted over to the driver's seat once Sam had left and Alec found himself humming the tune of whatever song had been on the radio.

Dean's head turned in thought and Alec heard him mutter, "Son of a bitch…" Alec smiled; he could tell Dean wasn't really mad; he didn't even tell him to stop humming.

The radio was still on, but it started cutting in and out after a few minutes. Dean tapped it a few times and looked around. Alec tried to see if there would be anything nearby that would disrupt the signal, but he didn't see anything.

Dean looked back to the window and Alec looked too when he saw Dean's shoulders tense; the café was empty.

Alec and Dean got out of the car and ran to the door. The sight of a man slumped over on the table had both of them drawing their guns.

"Sam?" Dean called out and started to slowly move inside. Alec watched the front as Dean walked to the back. He opened the door and called out again, "Sam?"

Alec looked over at Dean as he lifted his hand from the door and examined it.

"What is it?" Alec asked.

"Sulphur," Dean replied. He ran past Alec to the front of the café and out the door while Alec quickly followed.

"Sam…Sammy," Dean kept calling for Sam as he walked toward the car. Alec didn't really know what was going on, but he didn't want to stop Dean.

"Sam!" Dean yelled, but there was no reply. Sam was gone.

* * *

_The song in here is Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol. I actually really like this song and big thank you to Tera for helping me out! Hopefully I can post more soon, but I hope you all like it!_


	2. Chapter 2

_So sorry for the long wait, work and school definitely got in the way, but here's the next chapter. I hope you all like it!_

* * *

"What do you think happened to Sam?" Alec asked once they were on the road again.

"A demon took him…" Dean answered as he accelerated and pushed the Impala past 90.

"A demon? You're kidding right? Those are real?" Alec asked in a rush.

"Yup, they're real," Dean replied shortly.

"How do you know it was a demon?"

Dean glanced over at Alec; his eyes were wide and he was holding onto the door handle with a white-knuckled grip. He actually seemed scared and it was the youngest Dean had ever seen him look.

Dean finally let off of the acceleration and slowed the car down some. "Sorry…you can relax..."

Alec let out a shaky laugh and let go of the door, "My reflexes don't usually stop car wrecks…but it's more of the fact that demons exist that freaked me out…"

"It's a lot to get used to…" Dean said after a moment.

"So…how do you know it was a demon?" Alec asked again when Dean didn't say anything else.

"Oh…um, there was Sulphur on the door which means a demon was there…"

Alec looked at him suspiciously as the silence stretched until finally, "You're hiding something…there's a reason why Sam was just taken and not killed like the others. You know something that you're not telling me, am I right?"

Alec was better at picking up on things than Dean though, or hoped in this case. "Sam…he has visions…"

Dean waited for Alec's reaction, but he just looked at Dean and replied slowly, "Oookkaay? What kind of visions?"

Dean raised his eyebrows in surprise and then shook his head, "I forgot you're pretty good with weird…he sometimes can see a person die. He gets a really bad headache and then just sees it…I don't really know…"

"What's this have to do with the demon?"

"It's kind of a long story…" Dean answered hesitantly.

Alec looked around at the desolate landscape; they were in the middle of nowhere and Dean knew it was going to take a few hours until they would be meeting up with Bobby.

"I think we have time," Alec said after a moment.

Dean gave a short chuckle, "Yeah, I guess you're right…" He took a deep breath and thought for a moment about where he should begin. "Our Mom was killed by a demon when we were little and our Dad started hunting it, which is how we got into hunting, but the closest we ever came to killing it was last year…" Dean trailed off as pictures flashed by; the cabin, yellow-eyes, his Dad, Sam, blood, a crash, the heart monitor…

Alec's voice shook him out of his thoughts and back into the present, "How did you know it was the same demon?"

"It has yellow eyes and all the other demons have black," Dean answered easily.

"So what does it want with Sam?"

Dean took another deep breath and then said, "Apparently it has some kind of plan for psychic kids and Sam is one of them. I have no idea what that plan is, but it's not using Sam."

It was quiet in the car while Alec thought about everything that Dean had said. It was strange to be sitting in silence while Alec was next to him, wide awake. Since they had practically adopted him, Sam and Dean had found that Alec hardly ever stopped talking. His time at Manticore had prevented him from having a normal life and so while he knew more than they could imagine about tactics and weapons, he was way behind on the normal things in life. Although, he did say he knew more than the average transgenic since he watched as much TV as he could.

"How do you kill a demon?" Alec finally asked.

"Most demons you just exorcise, but for this demon we have a different way to kill it. We have a gun that can kill anything and we have one bullet left that we've saved just for the occasion," Dean answered.

Alec perked up at the mention of a gun, "What kind of gun is it?"

"A colt."

"How do you know it can kill anything?"

"You ask more questions than Sam does…" Dean muttered, but then answered, "We killed a vampire and another demon with it last year."

"Alright, so we know how to kill the thing; how are we going to find it and save Sam?"

"We're meeting up with Bobby to see if he's heard anything," Dean said.

Alec's eyebrows drew together in thought, "Bobby…that name sounds familiar."

"He's the one that found your file and told us about you," Dean answered, but he left out the part where Bobby had warned them not to go looking for Alec. Dean was glad that he hadn't listened to their old friend; otherwise Alec wouldn't be sitting right next to him. This time he wouldn't be alone in his search for Sam and Alec really was like another little brother to him.

Dean was a little worried though at how Alec and Bobby were going to get along. Last time he'd talked to Bobby, the older man had still cautioned them to be careful with Alec around. He didn't trust him, but Dean knew once he got to know him, he would change his mind. He just had to keep both of them in line until they got used to each other.

"He doesn't like me, does he?" Alec asked quietly. The kid was way too good at reading his facial expressions.

"He just doesn't know you," Dean defended quickly.

Alec looked out the window and let out a short, humorless laugh. "I don't blame him. If he's read the file, then he knows everything I've done. He knows I'm dangerous, and no offence, but his reaction is smarter than how you and Sam reacted…"

"Alec, we already had this conversation," Dean stated with a no nonsense tone.

Alec just dropped his gaze and they sat in tense silence for a few minutes.

"I don't care what you did in the past," Dean started softly. "You could tell me everything you've ever done, but that won't change my opinion of you. We've all done things we regret, but that's not who you are and once Bobby meets you, he won't be able to ignore what's right in front of him."

Alec still wouldn't meet his eyes, but Dean wasn't about to give up. "Besides, you've got me now and I'm not going anywhere."

Alec finally looked up, but he just nodded in response.

"Alright, enough of this girly, emotional stuff…and when we find Sam, if you say anything about this then you're sleeping on the floor for a month," Dean said with a small smile.

Alec laughed a little, "We're too manly for that kind of thing."

"Damn straight. Now, let's go find Sam."

* * *

_More soon!_


	3. Chapter 3

Alec couldn't believe he actually felt nervous about meeting Bobby. He'd never really felt nervous in his entire life. He'd been on countless missions and life threatening situations and near death experiences, but he'd never felt nerves like this. Those times, he'd been impatient to get things over with or the adrenaline had started flowing once the mission had started and there was no time to be nervous.

But those times he hadn't been looking for anyone else's approval; he'd just gotten the job done. Now a million thoughts were flying through his head but he couldn't focus on any one thought. Dean had assured him that Bobby would accept him once he got to know him, but Alec wasn't that optimistic.

"Hey, you gonna sit in the car the whole time or what?" Dean suddenly asked, making Alec jump in surprise. Dean was looking at him with worry, but as soon as Alec focused on him, he gave him an encouraging smile and got out of the car. Alec knew Dean could tell he was nervous. The closer they got to Bobby, the less Alec said and the more Dean kept glancing over at him.

The Impala was parked facing Bobby's blue truck and Dean walked over to greet the older hunter. Alec saw them shake hands and clap each other's shoulders; he saw their lips moving, but he couldn't hear what was said. Bobby looked over Dean's shoulder and Alec got his first real look at the man. He wasn't as old as Dean had described, but he had seen some years and he wore an old trucker's hat.

Alec realized he was still sitting in the car and felt pathetic so he slowly pushed himself up and out of the car. He kept his eyes on Bobby and saw the man's eyes were tracking him every step of the way. He realized halfway there that he had no idea what he was going to say to the man and felt like an idiot.

There was an awkward silence as soon as he reached Dean and Bobby, but luckily Dean saved the day. "Bobby, Alec – Alec, Bobby," Dean said quickly as he laid a map on top of the hood of the Impala.

Bobby immediately looked away and focused on Dean and the map and ignored Alec as much as he could, "This is it. All the demonic signs and omens over the past month."

"You jokin'? There's nothin' here!" Dean exclaimed. Alec moved to Dean's side so he could look at the map, but he didn't see anything special about it.

"Exactly," Bobby stated simply.

"C'mon, there's gotta be something…I mean, what about the normal low level stuff, you know, exorcisms that kind of thing?" Dean asked, grasping for anything they could use.

"That's what I'm tellin' ya. There's nothing! It's completely quiet!"

"Well how are we supposed to look for Sam? What, do we just close our eyes and point?" Dean asked sarcastically. His phone suddenly rang and he turned to answer it. "Ash what do ya got?"

If Alec listened carefully, he could hear the other side of the conversation but Bobby interrupted the silence. He spoke low enough so only Alec could hear him, "I know Sam and Dean trust you, but they don't know the things I do. You're gonna have to work real hard to earn my trust."

Alec couldn't stop from meeting the older man's gaze in a challenge. He knew he should just nod and walk away, but he was never good at backing down. Bobby was only telling him what he thought Sam and Dean should feel; he shouldn't be challenging this man, but his instincts and training were kicking in.

Bobby also refused to back down, "And if anything happens to those boys and I find out it was your fault, I will hunt you down."

Alec clenched his jaw so he wouldn't say anything, but he couldn't stop his hands from forming into fists. He had to force himself to calm down or else this whole thing was going to be a disaster. He knew Bobby was just trying to protect Sam and Dean because he cared about them, and Alec could understand that.

"I guess we're going to the Roadhouse, c'mon," Dean broke the tension as he hung up the phone and headed to the driver's seat of the Impala.

Alec and Bobby moved at the same time for the passenger seat and there was another awkward moment where they both looked to Dean.

Dean looked back at them both, "C'mon, we don't have time for this!"

Alec knew it was childish, but he wasn't going to be the one to give in.

"I will leave both of your asses here if you don't get in the car right now," Dean said after a moment. Bobby was the first to give in and he climbed in the backseat while Alec sat upfront.

He couldn't quite keep the smug look off his face and Dean whacked him on the arm for it. "How old are you? Both of you?" Dean asked in reprimand and then he muttered, "I should not be the responsible one here…"

It was quiet in the car for a while, but then Bobby broke the silence. "So, how did you get the name 'Alec'? I didn't think they gave names where you came from…"

Dean shot Bobby an incredulous look, but Alec just shrugged it off. "I preferred my designation, but the name just kind of stuck. Besides, X5-494 is kind of a mouthful…" Alec replied sarcastically.

Dean rolled his eyes and muttered, "Smart aleck," and as soon as he said it, he burst out laughing. "That's it, isn't it?! That's how you got your name!" Dean said with a smile.

Dean's smile was contagious and Alec forgot that Bobby was in the back. "Yeah, I said something to Max and she decided that was the best name for me. I actually got one of the better names, she named one kid trumpet. But she tried to give everyone a name; give them a new identity and a fresh start…"

"I can't believe I didn't realize it before…it definitely fits," Dean said with a small laugh. "Man, I can't wait to tell Sam…"

Alec tried to relax, but his senses were on high alert thanks to Bobby in the back. He knew that now wasn't the time to act like this, but he couldn't help it. He tried to distract himself by thinking about their plan to get Sam back. He didn't know how much help he would be since he didn't know much about the supernatural. He just hoped that when they did find Sam, he wouldn't get in the way.

He also hoped that Bobby's influence wouldn't convince Sam and Dean that they didn't want him around anymore. He knew he'd told them that he was too dangerous to be around, but he honestly didn't have anywhere else to go and he'd started to think of Sam and Dean as family. They treated him like family, but he still knew what he was and he knew his luck would be running out soon.

"What'd Ash say on the phone?" Bobby asked after a few minutes of silence.

"He said he knew something big, but he couldn't tell me over the phone…you know how Ash is," Dean replied.

Any other time, Alec would've jumped right into questioning Dean about who Ash was and everything about the Roadhouse, but with Bobby there Alec decided to stay silent.

"What could be so damn important that we have to drive all the way out there?" Bobby wondered out loud.

"I don't know, but whatever it is, it better be a way to find Sam…" Dean muttered.

* * *

_More soon!_


	4. Chapter 4

_This one has a lot from the episode so I hope you guys still like it!_

* * *

Dean hated riding in silence, but with the way Alec and Bobby were acting he was just glad that they weren't taking hits at each other. He'd been shocked when Alec didn't immediately jump into a million questions; he figured out a little into the drive that Alec was way more closed off than he normally was.

When they'd first taken Alec in, he had answered their questions with short, sarcastic answers. It wasn't until they had shown him some trust and been honest with him that he'd opened up and answered their questions. He'd even volunteered information to them and Dean hadn't expected him to do that.

Alec seemed fine with talking about his past most of the time. He didn't go into too much detail of how it was at Manticore, but he did talk about his time in Seattle. Dean was curious about how Alec was raised, but he knew it could be a touchy subject so he was going to let Alec talk about it when he wanted to. Even though his own childhood wasn't all butterflies and rainbows he wasn't going to keep anything from Alec; if the kid wanted to know, then he would tell him.

Dean glanced over at Alec; he was looking out the window, but his jaw was clenched and he'd been sitting like that for the majority of the trip. Dean had tried to bring him out of his silence, but nothing had seemed to work. None of the normal tricks he used on Sam seemed to work with Alec; he needed to come up with an entirely different set of tricks for Alec. He just wished he knew something for right now so he didn't have to ride in silence.

He finally pulled the Impala onto the familiar road that led to the Roadhouse.

"What the hell?" Dean muttered when he saw the Roadhouse was a burned out shell. The sight was almost too much to take in and the silence in the car seemed to change; it was more of a shocked silence instead of an aggressive silence.

Dean parked the Impala and looked over at Alec and Bobby; Alec looked concerned since he didn't actually know about the Roadhouse or the people inside, but Bobby looked just as shocked as Dean felt.

Together the three of them made their way over to the ruins. Dean felt sick at the sight of the burned corpses; he just hoped he wouldn't recognize one of them.

"My God…" Bobby breathed out, moving further into what was once the Roadhouse.

"You see Ellen?" Dean asked worriedly as he scanned the wreckage.

"…No…or Ash either…" Bobby answered as he stepped around a pile of charred bones.

Alec was walking around slowly and was scanning the ground carefully. Dean had no clue what Alec would be looking for since he didn't know Ellen or Ash, but maybe his watchful eyes would pick up something that Dean couldn't.

Dean suddenly saw something that looked familiar and walked toward it. It was a charred hand, but there was a watch on the wrist that he recognized. "Ahh Ash, Dammit." Dean ran a hand through his hair in defeat; not only was Ash gone, but so was the only way to find Sam.

Dean reluctantly followed Alec and Bobby away from the burned building after they had searched the entire thing.

"This is-" Bobby started but trailed off once they were by the Impala again.

"What the hell did Ash know? We got no way of knowing where Ellen is…or if she's even alive. We got no clue what Ash was gonna tell us and how the hell are we gonna find Sam?" Dean couldn't focus on one thing. His thoughts were scrambled now that their last hope at finding Sam was gone.

"We'll find him," Bobby immediately reassured and Alec nodded his agreement.

A sudden spike of pain shot through Dean's head and he closed his eyes and pressed his hand against his temple to try and ease the pain.

"Dean?" Alec's quiet voice asked in concern.

Dean tried to shake his head to clear away the pain. It seemed to work for a second and then it came back twice as strong. He leaned over with the force of it; his eyes were squeezed shut, but he suddenly saw something that looked like an old bell. The pain eased again and he was able to open his eyes to see Alec and Bobby looking at him with worry.

"What was that?" Bobby gruffly asked.

"I don't know…headache?" That was true, it was a headache…just not any headache he'd ever had before. Not only that, but he'd seen something; he knew he'd never seen that bell before.

Alec scowled in disbelief and Bobby asked, "You get headaches like that a lot?" He apparently wasn't being very convincing.

"No…must be the stress. I coulda swore I saw something…" The picture of the bell came back to him, but he had no idea what it meant or where it'd come from.

"What do you mean? Like a vision? Like what Sam gets?" Bobby asked.

"What!? No!" He wasn't psychic like Sam, and he didn't want to be. He had enough to worry about as it was and he didn't need to add this to the list.

"Well, I'm just sayin'," Bobby defended.

"C'mon, I'm not some psychic!"

The pain spiked again, but way stronger than before. He was brought to his knees with the force of it and he leaned his head against the hood of the Impala.

"Dean? Dean!" Alec moved so he was crouched down next to him and put his hand against his shoulder.

Dean squeezed his eyes shut against the pain. He saw the bell again, but he still didn't know what it meant. Then he saw Sam. It was so brief that all he knew for sure was that Sam was alive.

"Dean!? You with me?" Alec shook his shoulder slightly to try and get his attention. Dean finally opened his eyes and saw Alec's worried gaze was fixed on him. His eyes quickly scanned Dean's features, but Dean knew his face was still lined with pain and that wasn't going to ease Alec's worry.

Dean stayed leaned over, but he tried to ease some of Alec's worry by answering, "Yeah…I think so. I saw him. I saw Sam."

"It was a vision," Bobby stated. He had also moved forward to help Dean, but Alec had beaten him to it, which would actually help Alec earn Bobby's trust even faster.

"Yeah, I don't know how, but yeah. Whew, that was about as fun as getting kicked in the jewels," Dean tried to lighten the mood as he stood up. Alec still wasn't buying it, but he did take a small step back to give him some space.

"What else did you see?" Bobby asked after a moment.

"Uh, there's a bell…" Dean tried to remember if there was anything special about the bell, but he could really only remember seeing Sam.

"What kind of bell?" Bobby continued.

"Um, like a big- a big bell with some kind of engraving on it, I don't know…" Dean racked his brain, but still couldn't come up with much.

"Engraving? Was it a tree? Like an oak tree?" Bobby asked.

"Yeah, exactly," Dean said, brightening up a little. Now that Bobby had said it, the bell became clear in his head. And Bobby's tone sounded like he recognized the bell, which could finally lead them to Sam.

"Do you know where the bell is?" Alec asked hopefully.

"Better, I know where Sam is," Bobby stated.

* * *

_More soon! _


	5. Chapter 5

_This one is a bit violent, just a heads up._

* * *

The car was filled with tense anticipation. Bobby knew where Sam was and now they were finally on their way to Cold Oak, South Dakota. Alec knew where South Dakota was on the map, but that's as much as he knew about the place. Manticore made sure they only knew what they had to, to complete their missions.

Manticore didn't have to worry about their creations escaping; they knew that the transgenics didn't know enough of the real world to survive on their own. If the fear of survival wasn't enough, then the fear of getting caught would do the trick to keep them in their cage. The times that Alec had been punished had been the worst times of his life; he hadn't even been responsible for some of the times but that didn't get him off the hook.

Dean drove as fast as he could down the deserted street, but Alec was still impatient to get there; he couldn't stop his leg from bouncing up and down. He knew Dean felt the same way, but even more so than him. Sam was his actual brother and although Alec felt like family, he knew he didn't have anything close to what Sam and Dean had.

Dean would kill himself if it meant saving Sam, but Alec hoped it wouldn't come to that. What would he do if Sam was dead? He couldn't let Dean kill himself, but Dean wouldn't want to live if Sam died. Sam would want Dean to live and he'd expect Alec to keep his older brother alive. It wasn't a decision he wanted to make. He'd just have to make sure they found Sam before something bad happened to him.

"Looks like the rest of the way's on foot…" Bobby muttered.

Alec looked up in surprise. He hadn't realized that Dean had stopped the car in front of a fallen tree until Bobby said something. Dean was already out of the car and Bobby was waiting impatiently for him to get out. He quickly met Dean at the trunk once he focused on what was going on.

Dean already had a shotgun in his hand and gave Alec one as soon as he reached the back. He grabbed a flashlight while Bobby grabbed his own gear. There were quiet as they stocked up, but Alec found it almost calming to be handling weapons again. It was something he was used to and it included something he was actually good at.

Dean looked him over quickly and then said, "Let's go," and shut the trunk.

Alec followed Dean through the underbrush, but he listened hard to make sure he didn't miss anything. He had a bad feeling about this place and his instincts were keeping him on high alert.

The underbrush was annoying to walk through since the sticks and vines kept tripping them up and slowing them down. They all wanted to reach Sam as soon as possible, but it seemed like everything was getting in the way and trying to stop them.

Alec stopped, he thought he heard the sound of wood breaking, but it was hard to tell over everyone's footsteps. His stopping though had Dean and Bobby stopping too, which made it easier for him to hear.

"What is it?" Dean asked, looking at Alec curiously.

"I heard something break…"

"From out here? There's no way! We're still too far from the town," Bobby stated, but Alec ignored him and tried to block everything else out.

"He has really good hearing," Dean explained quickly, but Alec waved for both of them to be quiet. He heard something else, but it was quieter than the first time so he didn't know what it was.

He looked to Dean, "I can make it over there faster if I run."

Dean immediately shook his head, "No, you're not going over there without backup."

Alec looked ahead and then looked back at Dean and said with an apologetic smile, "I'm sorry Dean, but I wasn't asking…" He took off running as fast as he could in the direction of the town.

Everything seemed to move in slow motion when he ran like this, so the underbrush wasn't much of a problem. He did stumble a few times, but he managed to catch himself before he fell completely.

The brush finally gave way to a gravel street lined with old, abandoned buildings. He scanned the area as quickly as he could and he saw Sam a few yards away. He was standing over some guy with what looked like a crowbar in his hand.

"Sam!" Alec yelled, immediately drawing Sam's attention.

"Alec?" Sam asked in confusion.

"You alright?" Alec asked slowly as he walked closer to Sam. He carefully pulled the crowbar from his hand and held it loosely in his own grip and led him further away from the guy on the ground. Sam didn't protest being led away as they got to a safer distance. Alec didn't know what the guy had done, but he knew the guy deserved whatever Sam did to him. Not only that, but Sam was holding his right arm close to his body which was enough for Alec to want to go over to the guy and get his own revenge.

"Where's Dean?" Sam asked, completely ignoring Alec's question.

"He's on his way…"

"Sam!" Dean voice called out from far away and Sam's head looked to the direction it came from.

"Dean!" Sam called back, but he stayed by Alec's side.

Dean appeared from the same area that Alec had come from with Bobby right behind him.

Dean jogged toward them as soon as he saw them and called out, "Sammy, you alright?"

Sam nodded, but Dean scowled at the sight of Sam's arm. Dean stopped right in front of Sam and took in the sight of his brother.

"What happened? Let me look at ya…where else are you hurt?" Dean immediately asked as he carefully checked Sam over.

"I'll tell ya later, let's just get out of here," Sam tiredly answered, but he let Dean do his check over.

Dean finally stepped back and said, "I think you'll live, I'll patch you up as soon as we get out of here," but then he turned to Alec, "Don't ever do that again. You don't run off without backup, you hear me?"

Alec nodded guiltily, but then stiffened at the sound quiet footsteps headed their way.

The crowbar was suddenly pulled from his loose grip and he looked up in surprise. Sam had the crowbar in his hand and turned around quickly. The guy from the ground was right behind them; Sam swung hard and caught the guy on the shoulder. The man turned with the force of the hit and fell to the ground hard. A small knife fell out of his hand and Alec quickly scooped it up.

Sam raised the crowbar over his head and swung down again. Alec watched in shock as Sam brought down the crowbar again and again, blood splattering his face each time he made contact. Dean finally shook himself and ran forward. He grabbed Sam's arm and stopped his motion as he swung down again.

The man's face was covered in blood and Alec could tell that half of the bones in his face had been broken. The man was hardly recognizable and if he had still been alive, he would have been in an intense amount of pain.

It took Sam a moment to focus on Dean, but when he did, his legs collapsed. Dean caught him, but had to sink down until both of them were on their knees. Dean pulled the crowbar out of Sam's hand and held it out for Alec to take. Dean grabbed Sam's chin and gently made Sam meet his eyes. Sam's eyes were dazed, but he focused on Dean and didn't look beyond his brother.

"Sammy, you hear me?" Dean asked quietly.

Sam just blinked so Dean shook him slightly and said a little more urgently, "Sammy! Talk to me man!"

"What happened?" Sam asked, confused.

"It's ok, we're getting out of here," Dean stated firmly as he helped Sam back up to his feet.

Sam swayed a little once he was on his feet, but Dean kept a steadying hand against his back. Dean looked back at Alec and Bobby and said, "C'mon, we need to get out of here."

Alec was still staring wide-eyed at Sam, but Bobby moved forward to Sam's other side. Alec couldn't quite believe what he'd seen and it took him a moment to snap out of it and trail behind the others back to the car.

* * *

_More soon..._


	6. Chapter 6

Sam couldn't stop his hands from shaking. He didn't know what had just happened, but there was blood all over his hands and clothes. One minute he was talking to Dean and Alec and then the next he was standing over Jake's dead body.

_"_What did I do?... What did I do?... What did I do?" _what did I do what did I do what did I do what did I do? _That played over and over in his head. He couldn't remember, but he thought he was responsible for Jake's death.

"Sam!" Dean's gruff voice pulled him out of his thoughts and he looked wide-eyed at his older brother. "Knock it off would ya? You muttering 'what did I do' over and over again isn't going to help anything."

Sam groaned inwardly at having said all of that out loud; he didn't want Dean, Alec, or Bobby to think he was any crazier than he already was.

"I killed him, didn't I?" Sam couldn't help asking. He had to know if he was the murderer that Yellow-Eyes wanted him to be.

"It doesn't matter Sam! He was going to kill you," Dean stated firmly as he kept them moving steadily closer to the car.

That was answer enough for Sam; he'd killed Jake and he couldn't even remember doing it. After everything he'd been through, he was still a killer. It didn't matter if it was self-defense; he'd done exactly what Yellow-Eyes wanted him to do. He was the winner, the last one standing; he needed to make Dean get rid of him before he did something everyone would regret.

"Dean-" Sam started.

"Sam, enough ok?" Dean interrupted. He looked around for a moment and then dug the keys to the Impala out of his pocket. Sam watched as he turned to Alec and tossed the keys to him. Alec caught them easily, but looked up in surprise when he figured out what it was.

"Alec, you and Bobby go get the car started. We'll be there soon ok?" Dean said.

"Dean-" Alec said uncertainly, but Dean cut him off.

"Go, we'll be there soon."

Alec still looked uncertain, but he did as Dean said and went on walking with Bobby, leaving Sam and Dean alone.

Sam took in a breath to speak, but Dean again cut him off before he could. "Sam you've been talking nonstop- you've been saying everything you're thinking, so I already know what you're going to say and I'm not doing it," Dean stated.

Sam's mouth opened in surprise; he'd been saying everything he'd been thinking and he still didn't notice it. He really needed to get things together.

"I was the last one standing, I'm the one he's going to use and you have to stop that from happening!" Sam heatedly replied.

"I'm not killing my own brother," Dean said as he turned away from Sam.

"I killed Jake and I don't even remember doing it! I can't be trusted around you! Or Alec or Bobby! You're all in danger when I'm around! Everyone is in danger because who knows what Yellow-Eyes is going to make me do!?"

"It's my job to watch out for you. I'm not going to let anything happen to you and you have to believe me on this," Dean pleaded.

Sam looked down and didn't answer so Dean asked, "You do believe me, don't you?"

Sam nodded, he believed Dean would do everything he could to protect him, but he didn't want that. This could be too big for Dean and he didn't want him getting hurt because of it.

"Alright…you ok to get out of here? No more thinking out loud?" Dean asked with a small smile, trying to get Sam back to the present.

Sam gave a surprised smile and nodded again.

They weren't far from the car and Sam almost laughed when they saw Alec was just standing beside the car and Bobby was a few feet away shaking his head.

"The kid refuses to start the car," Bobby grumbled when he saw Sam and Dean approach and Alec shot a deadly glare at the older man.

"They're here now anyway…" Alec mumbled as he tossed the keys back to Dean.

"You know, I gave you the keys so you could drive…" Dean told Alec with a smile.

Alec shrugged and replied with a smirk, "Wouldn't want to break your Baby…"

"I should make you walk back for taking off like you did," Dean said jokingly.

"I could probably run faster than this thing anyway," Alec replied with a smile.

Dean hooked his arm around Alec's neck and messed up his hair, "You're in for it now," Dean said with a laugh while Alec tried to push Dean off.

Alec finally wiggled his way free, but he was laughing as he ran his hand through is hair.

"Are you two done? I think me and Sam here would like to go get cleaned up sometime today…" Bobby said, but even he couldn't keep the smile off his face from Dean and Alec's horseplay.

"Alright old man, we'll get you back to the room so you can take a nap," Dean replied. Bobby glared back at him, but Sam could tell the older man wasn't mad. Dean must have been really tense while they were looking for him and now he was letting off steam joking around and having fun.

"I deserve one after putting up with you!"

Sam was tired and he was ready for Dean to patch him up and then maybe sleep for a week. The others must have noticed because they were all piling into the car a moment later and leaving the ghost town behind.

* * *

Sam startled awake, but he grabbed his injured shoulder as it throbbed in pain. Dean had been extremely careful when he was patching him up. He kept telling Sam that he needed to be checked out by a doctor just to make sure nothing was broken. Sam was fairly certain nothing was broken, but no matter how many times he reassured Dean, he still wouldn't let it go.

Alec had hovered while Dean patched him up. Sam knew he had been itching to help, but Dean wasn't going to let anyone help if he could prevent it. Alec did as much as he could though, he got anything Dean needed. He didn't talk as much as he usually did and Sam didn't know what the reason was behind it.

Bobby had split his attention between the news on TV and Sam's laptop. Sam figured he was looking for any demonic activity, but he couldn't quite bring himself to ask.

Now they were all three asleep in various spots in the room. Even Alec was asleep, which was rare; he usually only slept a few hours each night and that was only after Dean threatened to make him do all of their laundry for a month if he didn't sleep sometime.

Sam scanned the room again and finally saw the extra person in the room. He immediately looked for the closest weapon, but there was nothing around him.

"Calm down Sam." He froze at the calm, familiar voice of the Yellow-Eyed Demon.

"I'm dreaming again right?" Sam asked slowly.

"Very good. I gotta say, I'm surprised it was you. I thought Jake was going to pull it off at the end, but I was pleasantly surprised. You know, I was rooting for you."

"What do you want?" Sam spit out.

"You're the strongest and you're going to do everything I tell you to."

"I'm not doing anything you say," Sam instantly denied.

Yellow-Eyes smiled, "You don't have a choice." He walked forward and stood next to Dean who was on the bed next to Sam's. "You don't want anything to happen to big bro over here…or little mini-me or grandpa…" He continued when Sam didn't say anything.

Sam wanted to tear him apart, but he deflated at the threat to his family. He needed to do whatever it took to keep them safe. "What do you want me to do?" Sam asked quietly.

"That's the Sammy I want to see! Now here's what you're gonna do…"

* * *

More soon...


	7. Chapter 7

A light touch on Dean's shoulder had him reaching for his Bowie knife hidden under his pillow. He turned from his stomach and lashed out with his knife, but a strong hand caught his wrist before he could do any damage.

"Easy, it's just me," Alec whispered in the darkness.

"Oh shit! I didn't hurt you did I?" Dean asked in concern, but he kept his voice down so they didn't wake Sam up. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes with the hand that wasn't trapped in Alec's grip, but Alec released his hand once Dean was able to focus on him and reassure him that he was completely awake.

Dean could just barely see Alec's smile in the darkness as he answered, "Nope, I'm good. You've gotta be faster than that to get past me." Alec paused for a moment before he quickly explained, "I wouldn't have woken you up, but you threaten I'd sleep on the floor if I didn't switch with you and you know how much I hate the floor…"

Dean waved Alec off and slowly got to his feet, "I know, and don't think I didn't notice you waited a few extra hours to switch with me."

Alec groaned, "Aww, c'mon Dean, you know I don't need as much sleep as you do."

Dean smiled slightly, he knew Alec was trying to hide how tired he was but he couldn't hide the dark circles under his eyes, but he said, "Alec, I can tell you're tired."

Alec just shrugged, "I'm not that tired…but completely unrelated, how long are we going to keep this up?"

"Just until I'm sure Sam's not going to take off just to keep us safe or the Yellow-Eyed Demon doesn't come in here and take him," Dean tried to reassure. Sam had told them everything that had happened in the ghost town, but Dean got the felling Sam was still hiding something from them. They were just going to keep an eye on him until he was completely sure everything was fine.

They were at Bobby's house now trying to figure out what the Yellow-Eyed Demon's plans were. Alec had definitely taken Dean's idea seriously to watch out for Sam and hadn't slept at all the first few nights there. It wasn't until Dean had issued his threat that Alec had taken him seriously and slept for a few hours. He still wasn't doing exactly what Dean wanted him to, but he was working on it.

Usually when they were at Bobby's, he and Sam would just stay in the living room and sleep on the sofa and floor. Since they were staying longer this time Bobby had them stay in the extra rooms upstairs. Bobby didn't have any kids, but his wife had insisted on having extra rooms for when they did. She died before they had any and Dean and Sam were the closest Bobby had for sons. Dean had considered him a father figure even before John had died and even more so after.

The three of them were sharing one of the bigger rooms that had two beds in it. Dean refused to leave Sam alone since he'd been taken and Alec had just naturally fallen into the same groove. Sam and Dean slept in the separate beds, but both of them now were used to Alec sleeping wherever he wanted, so it wasn't a surprise to either of them if they woke up next to him. Dean thought it was the freedom of choosing that appealed to Alec since he didn't have a choice for the majority of his life. Or he might be afraid of Sam and Dean disappearing, Dean didn't really know. As open as Alec was about some things, he was a complete mystery with others.

Sam and Dean didn't mind; they'd been forced to share beds many times when they were younger. It was a surprise the first time it had happened and the memory brought a smile to Dean's face. He'd woken up with Alec sound asleep next to him; he hadn't even heard Alec moving around or felt the bed shift. He'd almost fallen out of bed at the shock of it. Alec had done it to Sam the next night and Sam's reaction was almost funnier than his own had been. Dean considered not getting an extra bed for him anymore, but then he'd gone back to his own bed. Neither of them had asked him about it yet and so far Alec hadn't offered up a reason why.

"You sure you don't want to get some more sleep?" Alec asked when Dean still hadn't made any indication of moving.

"Nope, I'm good," Dean replied and he clapped Alec on the back once as he headed for the door. When he looked back, Alec was on his bed already fast asleep.

Dean made his way downstairs to the room where Bobby was sitting doing research.

"You know, the kid can stay in one of the other rooms if he wants his own bed, he doesn't have to share with one of you two," Bobby said without looking up as Dean entered the room.

Dean sat in one of the chairs opposite of Bobby's and propped his feet up on the cluttered desk between them. He chuckled, "He's probably already slept in one of those rooms, but I don't think he minds sharing."

"It really doesn't look like he's slept much at all," Bobby muttered and he glanced up over the book he was reading to fix Dean with a reprimanding gaze.

"Sounds like you're starting to get a soft spot for Alec," Dean returned, choosing to ignore Bobby's thinly veiled reprimand.

Bobby grumbled something that sounded like, "Freakin' Winchesters…" and Dean smiled a little as he picked up one of the books off of the pile.

Dean hated doing research, but that's all they'd been doing the past few days. They were looking for anything that would tell them what Yellow-Eyes was planning. He shouldn't complain though, he was just happy that Sam was alive and with them.

"Do you think somethin's different with Sam?" Bobby asked hesitantly after a moment.

Dean had been thinking about that a lot lately and answered truthfully, "I think he might be hiding something…"

"What do you think he's hiding?" Bobby asked.

Dean sat up and put the book on the desk, "I don't know…"

Bobby just nodded and picked up something else that Dean couldn't see. They sat in silence for a while but Dean couldn't focus on doing research at the moment. He couldn't stop thinking about what could have happened in that ghost town. Sam could have died and there would have been nothing he could do about it. His whole life he'd looked after Sam and if he was gone, Dean didn't know what he would do.

"I think I found something," Bobby said suddenly.

"What?" Dean asked with curiosity. After days of research there hadn't been any leads and Dean was ready for anything that could help them.

Bobby hesitated and looked to the door and then back at Dean, "You better get those two up, they're going to want to hear it too."

Dean's eyebrows rose in surprise, but he got up and headed back up the stairs. Sam and Alec were both sound asleep when he walked in and part of him didn't want to wake them. But Bobby was right, they would want to know if there were any leads and they would be pissed if he let them sleep through it.

"Rise and shine, Bobby's found something," Dean said.

Sam woke up faster than Alec did at the sound of Dean's voice, but neither of them knew what he'd said.

"What?" Alec asked in a sleepy voice.

"Bobby found something," Dean repeated and that news had both of them moving a little faster to see what it was. Sam was actually faster than Alec was for once, which had Dean wishing he could've let him sleep a little longer.

"You alright?" Dean asked quietly as Alec walked by him.

Alec stopped and looked at him in surprise. "I'm always alright," Alec replied with a small smile, but the reply wasn't all that convincing.

Once they were all in the room Bobby laid out a map of the state of Wyoming. "There's all kinds of Demonic signs in Southern Wyoming, but there's a large area where nothin's going on, like the demons are surrounding it."

"What do you think it means?" Sam asked.

"Don't know," Bobby shrugged, "but there somethin' going on there. It's the only thing- what'd you hear?" Bobby suddenly asked, looking right at Alec.

Dean and Sam swung their attention to Alec who was looking out of the window.

"I think there's something in the salvage yard," Alec said as his eyes scanned for any movements outside.

Dean didn't question what Alec heard, but he was surprised at how much faith Bobby was showing in him. "Sam, you and Alec take the back, me and Bobby will search the front," Dean stated and all four of them moved into action.

Dean and Bobby moved quickly and quietly through the maze of wrecked and destroyed cars. Now that they were outside, Dean could hear what Alec must've heard earlier; it was like something was moving around and it sounded like it was getting closer.

Together they crouched down beside an old beat up four-door and waited for a moment. There was another sound and Dean and Bobby jumped up at the same time and grabbed the woman that appeared.

It took Dean a second to realize that it was Ellen. "Ellen?" He asked in surprised relief as wrapped his arms around her in a desperate hug.

Ellen nodded against Dean and held him back. They hadn't been able to tell if Ellen was killed in the fire or not, and now the relief of seeing her alive was almost too much.

They only stood there for a few minutes before they made their way back into the house. Dean yelled out back for Sam and Alec to come back and they came running in a moment later.

Bobby was sitting across from Ellen pouring holy water in a shot glass when the three of them walked in. Bobby slid the shot across the table where Ellen caught it and asked, "Bobby is this really necessary?"

"It's just a belt of holy water, shouldn't hurt," Bobby replied easily.

Ellen tossed it back and then set the glass down, "Whiskey now, if you don't mind."

"Ellen what happened? How'd you get out?" Dean asked as Bobby was filling up the glass with some whiskey.

Ellen's eyes landed on Dean, but then she spotted the extra person in the room. "Wait just a minute, who's this?!"

Dean looked to see that she was looking at Alec. "This is Alec," Dean tried to keep his voice casual; he just hoped Ellen wouldn't ask too many questions.

"Am I just supposed to ignore that he looks just like you?" Ellen asked in her no-nonsense voice.

"It's kind of a long story…" Sam said.

"Anyway, how'd you get out?" Bobby asked again, trying to change the subject.

Ellen shot another look at Alec, but then answered, "I wasn't supposed to. I was supposed to be in there with everybody else. But we ran out of pretzels, of all things. Ash called while I was out…he was panicking about something. He told me to look in the safe and then the call cut out. By the time I got back the flames were sky-high and everybody was dead. I couldn't have been gone more than 15 minutes…"

"I'm sorry Ellen," Sam gently said.

"Lot of good people died in there…and I got to live…lucky me."

There was silence for a moment until Bobby said, "Ellen, you mentioned a safe…"

"There's a hidden safe that we keep in the basement," Ellen quickly explained.

"Demons get what was in it?" Bobby asked.

"No," Ellen said as she pulled out a map with x's on it and passed it to Dean.

Dean looked at the map and it only took him a second to recognize that it was a map of Wyoming. "Wyoming?"

It didn't take Bobby long to figure out that there was a giant Devil's Trap in southern Wyoming. He laid out the map that Ellen had so everyone could see it. Each of the x's on the map represented an old frontier's church that had been built by Samuel Colt and each of the churches were connected by private railway lines. When Bobby connected the x's he made a star, which is how they knew there was a Devil's Trap.

"Do you think it still works?" Dean asked.

"Definitely," Sam answered.

"How do you know?" Dean asked again.

"All those omens Bobby found, the demons must be circling it and they can't get in," Sam explained.

"Well, they're tryin'," Bobby said.

"What's inside?" Ellen asked.

"There's an old cowboy cemetery right in the middle," Dean answered as he pulled the book he'd been looking at closer.

"What's so important about a cemetery? What was Colt trying to protect?" Sam asked.

"What if instead of keeping something out, they were trying to keep something in?" Alec suddenly asked.

"Well that's a comforting thought…" Ellen replied and Alec just shrugged back.

Dean knew what their next step was going to be, but he asked anyway, "So, we headed to Wyoming?"

* * *

More soon...


	8. Chapter 8

"Sammy, I'm getting awfully impatient," Yellow-Eyes appeared out of no-where making Sam jump. He looked around quickly to make sure Dean and Alec weren't around.

"I'm working on it…we're already headed where you want me to go," Sam tried to argue. He knew it was going to be difficult to shake Dean, but he hadn't counted on Alec teaming up to keep an eye on him. Finding a time to leave without either of them knowing was physically impossible.

"You still haven't slipped the babysitters…" Yellow-Eyes replied with a smile.

Sam took a deep breath, "I'm trying…I'll get away before we get to the cemetery. Please, you have to give me more time."

"You know, I have an easier way…" He suggested without finishing his sentence. He didn't have to, Sam already knew what his way would be; to kill Dean and Alec and anyone else who got in the way.

"No," Sam firmly stated. "I'm doing what you want, you can't hurt them."

Yellow-Eyes moved until he was right in Sam's face, "Sam, I can do whatever I want. And some snot-nosed kid isn't going to change that. I've given you more than enough time to get this done, but I'm done waiting."

Sam refused to back down, "If you want me to do this then you're going to back off and let me do it my way. No one is getting hurt."

Yellow-Eyes laughed, but it was a cold sound and froze Sam's blood. "We'll see about that…Once you get there, if you don't make a move, then I will…" His eyes suddenly shifted to the doorway where Alec had just walked in and he tracked his progress across the room.

Sam's eyes widened in fear and he held his breath; if Alec turned around, he'd be dead. His heart was pounding as Alec looked through a pile of papers. Not finding what he was looking for, he started in on another pile.

Sam looked to Yellow-Eyes who shot back a wicked smile. Sam just barely shook his head no and pleaded with his eyes for him not to hurt Alec, to give him more time to do what he wanted.

"Sam what are you doing?" Alec suddenly asked and Sam spun around to face him.

Alec took a step toward him at the look of fear that must have been covering his face, but Sam just turned back around. He let out a breath when he saw that Yellow-Eyes had disappeared and almost sank to the floor with relief.

"Sam…you ok?" Alec asked and he put a comforting hand on Sam's shoulder.

Sam turned back around and nodded. That had been too close and he almost couldn't stop himself from hugging Alec, but he held back since he thought that would be overeating. He did look Alec over though; it seemed with all his trying to find a way out he completely missed what was going on. Dean and Alec both look exhausted and he knew it was his fault.

"Guys!" Dean called out and he walked in the room a moment later. When he spotted Sam and Alec across the room he held out his hands and asked, "What? You waiting for an invitation?"

Sam and Alec both shook their heads no so Dean continued, "Then move your ass. Bobby and Ellen already left." He didn't wait for them to follow him out of the room, he just turned and left.

Alec patted him on the shoulder and followed Dean out the door calling out, "With the way you drive there should be no problem with catching up!"

Sam wished more than anything that he could find a way to keep both of them safe and kill Yellow-Eyes, but so far he didn't have any idea what to do.

* * *

"You gonna tell me what's going on?" Dean asked.

They had been driving nonstop and they were almost where they were going to stop. Sam had been expecting this question earlier, but Dean must have been waiting for him to bring it up. He was almost tempted to tell Dean everything, but that wouldn't really help him keep them safe. That would just make Dean work twice as hard to try to protect him.

"What do you mean?" Sam finally asked, deciding that playing dumb was his best option.

"You know what I mean. You're hiding something and everyone can see it," Dean stated.

Sam refused to answer and looked out the window instead.

"C'mon Sam…does it have to do with Yellow-Eyes? Or the Ghost Town? You know you can tell me anything."

"I know Dean…but it's nothing…" Sam lied.

Dean shook his head, but he didn't question Sam further. It was only a few miles before they stopped and parked next to Bobby in front of some old train tracks. The rest of the way to the old cemetery was going to be on foot.

Dean turned around and shook Alec's shoulder to wake him up. He'd slept most of the way there but Sam could tell it still wasn't enough. He hated himself for putting them all through this, and he wished again that he'd found a way to sneak out before they'd gotten here.

"You three ready for this?" Bobby asked once they were all standing, armed to the teeth, beside the railroad tracks.

"I actually only want one to go through," Yellow-Eyes suddenly said behind them and they all turned and raised their guns at the demon.

Yellow-Eyes laughed, "Those won't work on me…" He looked at each of them and then said, "I'm feeling a little crowded here…" He held out his hand and pushed to the left. Alec, Bobby, and Ellen went flying through the air. Bobby and Ellen landed a few feet away, but Alec hit a tree hard and none of them got back up.

Sam and Dean both moved to go check on them, but there was an invisible force suddenly stopping them.

"That's better," Yellow-Eyes said with a smile. "Now Sam, wasn't that easier than whatever you were planning on doing?"

Dean shot Sam a look, but Sam ignored him and argued, "You didn't have to do that!"

"Maybe not, but I wanted to and business is easier to do with less people around…" He looked at Dean who cried out a moment later. He dropped his gun and pressed his hand against his shoulder.

"Dean!" Sam tried to move closer to Dean, but he couldn't. "Let him go!" He could see the blood soaking Dean's jacket and the effort Dean was making to not let the pain show.

Yellow-Eyes turned to face him and Dean collapsed to his knees the second Yellow-Eyes looked away. Sam was grateful that his brother had been released and he hoped he could prevent anything else from happening.

"I'll do whatever you want," Sam said in defeat. He would do whatever it took to keep Dean safe but he was already failing.

"Good! That's what I like to hear!" Yellow-Eyes said. He stepped forward and pulled the Colt out of his jacket. He passed it over to Sam who took it without hesitation.

This gun could end it all, it could kill Yellow-Eyes and now Sam had it. All he had to do was shoot him before anything else could happen and it would all be over.

"I know what you're thinking Sam, but I wouldn't if I was you," Yellow-Eyes said and Dean cried out again in pain.

Sam focused again on what was going on and yelled, "Stop! I won't shoot! Just tell me what you want me to do!" He was desperate, but he didn't care. There was already a pool of blood beneath Dean and the whole point of this was to keep him safe.

Yellow-Eyes didn't stop hurting Dean but he said, "Go into the cemetery. You're going to use the gun to open the mausoleum and then your army will be released."

"My army?" Sam asked in confusion.

"Yes Sam, your army. And if you don't do it, I'll make it so big bro lives until he's begging for mercy. Death will be a blessing once I'm through with him. But I'll make him watch the others die first. I'll draw it out until he believes this is all his fault instead of knowing that it's yours."

"Let him go, then I'll start walking," Sam said quietly.

"Fine, he's free," Yellow-Eyes said, but Dean was barely conscious now and Sam could see where there were multiple cuts where his blood had already soaked through. "But they're all staying with me. I'll know when you've done what you're supposed to and then I'll let them go."

"Sam, no," Dean managed to say, and Sam could tell with just those two words how much pain Dean was in. Not only that, but he thought what Sam was doing was a mistake. He'd rather die than let Sam become the demon's leader. Sam wished he was strong enough to do what Dean wanted him to, but he needed his brother to be alive and doing this was the only way.

"I have to," Sam finally replied. He turned away from Dean and headed for the middle of the cemetery.

Part of him wanted to walk as slowly as possible and put off releasing the demon army for as long as he could. But the other part of him wanted to get this done so he could know for sure that Dean and the others were all going to be ok.

Before he knew it, he was at the cemetery. It didn't take him as long as he thought it would and it was easy to find the mausoleum that he was supposed to find. He found the place to use the Colt as a key, but he hesitated in using it. This would release an army of demons that he was supposed to control, how was that in any way a good idea? It was end of the world big and his only concern was on his brother and his family.

This was the selfish decision and he knew it. There was just no way to save his family and save the world. He just had to hope that Dean and Alec would live so they would be able to stop him and hopefully save the world before he destroyed it.

Making his decision, Sam put the Colt in the hole and watched as it started to spin.

* * *

More soon...


	9. Chapter 9

That had definitely hurt; trees were not something you wanted to fly into and Alec was definitely feeling it now. Even though he was conscious now, he still didn't move. He needed to know what was going on before he let the enemy know he was ready for another round. He could hear just fine and that's all he needed to get an idea of what was happening.

It was quiet except for some labored breathing a few feet away. It was Dean, he couldn't explain how he knew it, but he did. Dean was hurt, not only could he hear the labored breathing, but he could smell blood. Somewhere close to Dean there was someone moving around. It wasn't Sam; the footsteps were too close together, so he figured it was the Demon.

What he really wanted to do was go over there and save Dean before the Demon could do anything else. But instincts kicked in first. He didn't know how to kill a demon and he was obviously going to have a problem fighting this thing.

"Would you look at that! Sammy did it! I knew he had it in him," the Demon said in excitement.

Dean groaned, but he didn't answer so the Demon continued. "Would you like to know what happens next Dean?"

"Go to Hell," Dean spat back.

"Already been. You didn't answer my question, but I'll tell ya anyway. See that place where my Demons broke through the iron tracks?"

Instead of answering, Dean cried out in pain and Alec almost jumped up to help him, but Dean stopped after a moment.

"When I ask a question, I expect an answer, got it?"

"Got it," Dean answered through clenched teeth.

"Good. Now, we're going through there until we get to your brother. Then I'm going to congratulate my good little soldier."

"Why do you need me?" Dean asked.

"Excellent question Dean! I would just kill you right now, but there's some things that Sammy needs to do and you are the motivation."

At least that gave Alec some time to come up with a plan. He'd been afraid that the Demon was just going to kill Dean, but now he had a chance.

"Alright, let's get a move on," the Demon said and he must have hauled Dean to his feet because he cried out in pain.

Alec waited a few more seconds until the footsteps had disappeared completely before he even tried to move. He pushed himself to his feet, but was back on the ground a second later and his vision was swimming. He should have taken stock of his injuries before he tried standing. He'd definitely hit his head, probably the worst injury he could have right now.

He pushed himself up again, but this time he went a lot slower and he stayed on his feet. He was swaying a little, but it was good enough for now.

A hand suddenly landed on his shoulder making him jump.

"Easy kid…You alright?" Bobby asked and he kept his hand on Alec's shoulder to keep him steady.

"I'm fine," Alec answered, but he didn't shrug off Bobby's help.

"Do you know what happened?" Ellen asked as she walked up beside Bobby.

"Sam's off in the cemetery I guess and the Demon just took Dean in there…" Alec tried to remember everything he heard, but his brain felt sluggish and it took him a minute.

"Anything else?" Bobby asked.

Alec rubbed his head and thought for a moment, "…Dean's hurt, I know that for sure."

"How bad?" Bobby quickly asked.

Alec shook his head, "I don't know…he was bleeding…"

Bobby nodded slowly, "Alright…you did good…"

Alec looked up in surprise at Bobby's praise, but Bobby just shrugged back in embarrassment.

"We need to get to that cemetery and fast," Ellen said. "A damn Devil's Gate has been opened and we need to close it. Now!"

Alec took a breath to say that he could run there and get there faster, but Bobby cut him off, "Don't even think about it."

"Do you have a better idea?" Alec asked stubbornly.

"Better than suicide? Yeah I think so," Bobby sarcastically replied.

Alec rolled his eyes but he didn't argue with the older man. The three of them took off to follow the Demon.

* * *

Dean struggled to keep up with Yellow-Eyes' fast pace. There were three deep slashes across his chest that were bleeding pretty badly. He'd already lost a lot of blood back at the car and he really needed to put some pressure on them.

But he needed to get to Sam more than he needed to take care of himself. Sam had opened a Devil's Gate and now demons were pouring out of it. Sam should have just let him die; he wasn't worth the world ending, but Sam wouldn't do it.

"There he is! My champion!" Yellow-Eyes suddenly exclaimed and Dean saw that Sam was standing by the mausoleum a few feet away.

"Dean?" Sam breathed out in concern.

"Don't worry about him," Yellow-Eyes said offhandedly. "Let's talk about what you've got to do next."

"No. I did what you said, now let Dean go," Sam said with determination.

"Sam, Sam, Sam…you should have known that wasn't going to be the end of things."

White-hot pain shot across Dean's chest and he couldn't hold in his cry of pain as he fell to his knees.

"Stop!" Sam shouted and Dean could just barely hear a click of a gun.

The pain stopped and Dean opened his eyes to see Sam pointing the Colt at Yellow-Eyes.

"Take your best shot Sammy. Make sure you don't miss, you've only got one chance…"

_C'mon Sam, take the shot._ Dean couldn't help but think.

Sam hesitated for just a second, but it was long enough for Yellow-Eyes to make his move. He Jedi-forced the Colt into his hand and then slammed Sam's head against a tombstone. Sam crumpled to the ground and Dean wished more than anything that he could do something.

"You Winchesters…always making things difficult…" Yellow-Eyes turned and pointed the Colt at Dean.

Dean just glared back; there was nothing else he could do.

Alec suddenly came out of nowhere and tackled the Demon. Yellow-Eyes was caught off guard and the Colt went flying out of his grasp.

Bobby and Ellen ran by and went to mausoleum doors and started to push against them.

Dean had to blink a few times to get rid of the black spots in his vision, but then he looked around for some way that he could help. He couldn't do much, but doing something would be better than just sitting there.

Dean finally saw the Colt lying a few feet away from him. He had to crawl over to it, but he was close to it a few seconds later. He grabbed the gun and turned to look for where Yellow-Eyes was. He looked up just in time to see Alec get tossed again and slam into the side of a tombstone.

Yellow-Eyes turned to face him once Alec was out and walked forward. Dean kept the gun low so the Demon couldn't see it.

"That kid's quiet, I'll give him that," Yellow-Eyes said after a moment. "But he's got a lot to learn about Demons…"

Dean didn't let him go any further. He raised the Colt and fired right into Yellow-Eyes' heart. The Demon looked at him in shock before he kind of zapped in and out and then fell to the ground dead.

Dean sank back in shocked relief at having finally killed the Demon that had killed his Mom and turned his life upside down. He finally finished it and now he felt a peace settle over him that he'd never felt before.

Having done what he'd been working at his entire life, he could now die in peace.

His vision slowly went black and he fell back in unconsciousness.

* * *

More soon...


	10. Chapter 10

Alec groaned; if he thought his head hurt before, he had another thing coming. It felt like someone was hammering on the inside of his skull. It took him way longer than it should have for him to come back into consciousness and figure out what was going on.

He finally realized what had happened and tried to jump to his feet. The Demon could have killed everyone by now and he wasn't being any help at all. Everything was spinning though when he got to his feet and it was difficult to tell where everything was.

He tried to take a few steps, but had to sink down to his knees before he fell on his face. He decided that staying there for a moment was his best options. He looked around slowly so he could know what was going on. The Demon, to his surprise, was lying a few feet away, dead.

_Well, that's a good sign…_ Alec thought.

He closed his eyes knowing that the enemy was dead, but he snapped them back open when he heard footsteps running towards him. He relaxed a little when he realized it was just Bobby.

"You alright?" Bobby asked gruffly.

"I'm gonna need a CAT scan after all this," Alec sarcastically replied, but Bobby just scowled in response. "Sam and Dean would have laughed…" Alec mumbled under his breath; which reminded him that they were the ones that were usually asking him that question.

He sprang to his feet and looked around for Sam and Dean; their absence had him worried, he had to make sure they were ok. He nearly passed out though once he was on his feet and Bobby had to reach out and catch him.

"Sorry…just got up too fast," Alec said quickly.

Bobby just looked at him in concern, but Alec didn't have time to think about that right now. He had to make sure Sam and Dean were ok.

He scanned the ground around the Demon and saw Dean. His heart dropped at seeing the blood covering his chest and he ran over to him. He skidded to a stop and kneeled down next to Dean. He was relieved to see Dean's chest rise and fall, but he was concerned with how uneven his breathing was. Not only that, but the amount of blood covering him was not a good sign. He'd already lost a lot of blood and they weren't really in a place where Alec could patch him up.

But this was the kind of thing Alec was made for. He quickly took off his outer shirt and started tearing it into strips. He took out his knife and sliced through Dean's ruined shirt, exposing four deep cuts across Dean's chest that were still oozing blood.

He used the rest of his shirt and put it over the wounds and then he took the strips he made and tied them as tightly as he could around them. The makeshift bandages were instantly soaked in blood, but Alec hoped this would be enough to keep him from bleeding to death before they got somewhere they could patch him up.

Bobby had silently watched his every move, but Alec didn't have time to worry about what he thought.

"What do you think?" Bobby suddenly asked.

"He's lost a lot of blood. If we don't get him out of here and patch him up, then he's going to bleed to death," Alec quickly answered, but he didn't stop his motions. "How's Sam?"

"Ellen's with him, but he's out cold."

Alec needed to think fast. He needed to come up with a plan to get them all back as quickly as possible and then he had to find a way to save Dean.

"How far is it to the closest hospital?" Alec asked; he needed all the information he could get before he made a decision. A hospital would not be his first choice, but they had more equipment than he did. He hated hospitals since they brought back all kinds of bad memories, but more than that, it was how Manticore tracked down its lost experiments. Alec knew more than a few transgenics that had escaped only to be caught again because they had to go to the hospital.

"An hour at least," Bobby reluctantly answered.

"Dean doesn't have an hour…" Alec made his brain work double time. They had everything they needed in the Impala. They had ransacked a hospital once Sam and Dean found out he actually had some medical training. Dean had said that with all these supplies, he might just save them a trip to the hospital, but Alec just hoped it was enough.

"I have an idea, but it's crazy and you're gonna have to trust me," Alec finally said.

"What is it?" Bobby asked.

"We need to get back to the car, I'll tell you on the way. Can you and Ellen get Sam there?"

"Yeah…you sure you can get Dean all by yourself?" Bobby asked, unsure.

Instead of answering, Alec got to his feet and pulled Dean up over his shoulder fireman style. He had to take a few unsteady steps, but then he got used to the extra weight and started walking.

"We'll be right behind you…" Bobby mumbled.

_Please, please, please don't let me mess this up_. Alec didn't know if there was a God, or if he even acknowledged Alec's existence due to the fact that he was a clone, but he had to try. He couldn't mess this up. His whole life he'd been a screw up, but this was too important to mess up. Sam and Dean were his family and he had to keep them alive.

"So what's this plan of yours?" Bobby asked, slightly breathless. He and Ellen had an unconscious Sam between them and Alec hoped he wasn't hurt too badly.

Alec adjusted Dean on his shoulder and then said, "I need a place where I can patch him up, know of any?"

"There's a hunter I know who has a cabin close to here. I'll call him and see if we can use it, but how is that going to help Dean?"

"This is the part you're gonna think is crazy…" Alec managed to say. He needed to keep his explanations short so he could make it to the car.

"I'm not gettin' any younger kid," Bobby said impatiently.

Alec scowled at Bobby, "I have nanobots in my blood that can save him, they can create new cells and repair damaged ones. If I patch him up and give him a blood transfusion then he might have a chance to live."

It was quiet for a minute and then Bobby said, "You're right, that is crazy."

"If you have a better idea, I'm all ears," Alec replied defensively.

"Take it easy kid, I wasn't saying you shouldn't do it, I was just agreeing that it was crazy."

"Bobby are you really going along with this?! This is Dean's life we're talkin' about," Ellen argued.

"I've read his file start to finish, he's Dean's best chance at survival," Bobby said back.

Ellen didn't say anything in reply which must have meant she was reassured with Bobby's answer. Alec didn't really care; Dean's blood was soaking through Alec's shirt and he knew they didn't have much time.

It was a relief to finally see the Impala come into view and Alec worked the keys out of Dean's pocket while he walked.

"Bobby, you need to drive so I can put pressure on his wounds," Alec managed to say and he glanced back at Bobby to see his response.

Bobby nodded and Alec tossed the keys to him. He didn't wait and see if he caught them or not, he just turned to the backseat of the Impala. He carefully eased Dean into the backseat and worried for a second about getting blood all over the car, but that was just a minor problem that he could fix later.

He slid in after Dean and quickly put pressure on the worst of the wounds.

"Alright Dean, you gotta stay with me…" Alec murmured after the car started to move. They must have put Sam in Bobby's car with Ellen cause Alec didn't see him in the front seat of the Impala.

"You sure you can do this kid?" Bobby asked after a few minutes.

"It'll work Bobby," Alec tried to reassure, but he didn't think he was as convincing as he should have been.

Bobby cleared his throat, "This isn't the easiest thing for me to say…but…I trust you…and I think you're Dean's best chance."

Alec didn't know what to say. Sam and Dean were the only people that had ever really trusted him and he didn't even think he deserved this kind of trust.

Bobby cleared his throat again before Alec could say anything, "We're here. If you need anything, tell me and I'll get it ok?"

Alec nodded, but then it was time to move. He gently lifted Dean up and out of the car and then followed Bobby into the little wooden cabin.

"Alright there's a bed in here…" Bobby said as they moved further into the cabin. Alec saw the bed and carefully put Dean on it.

"I need all of the medical supplies from the trunk," Alec said quickly as he took off Dean's jacket and shirt. He slowly peeled back the makeshift bandage and wasn't surprised to see that the cuts were still bleeding.

Bobby came back in a minute later carrying a duffle bag that he set next to the bed.

"I need to wash my hands…can you get some warm water?" Alec asked.

Bobby pointed him to the bathroom and then walked down the hall. Alec was quick, but thorough washing his hands. He needed to get back to Dean, but the room was slightly spinning and he was feeling a little nauseous. He splashed some cold water on his face and took a few deep breaths before he walked back into Dean's room.

Bobby was already waiting for him and he'd managed to find a chair for him.

He got to work right away. He quickly made up an IV bag with fluids and connected the line to one of Dean's veins. Then he started cleaning the wounds and then he went on to the stitches. Bobby stayed and handed him any supplies that he needed. They were quiet while they worked which helped Alec keep his focus and keep his headache down to a manageable level.

Dean was extremely pale and his breathing was too shallow for Alec's liking. Even though the silence helped him, it was also a little disconcerting. Even though Dean didn't talk as much as he did, he still wasn't this quiet. Not only that, but Dean was almost always moving. He was way too still and Alec hated it. He didn't even have Sam with him to reassure him that everything was going to be ok.

He finished up the last stitch and bandaged Dean's chest.

"Now for the blood?" Bobby asked and the sound made Alec jump. "Sorry kid," Bobby said quickly when he saw Alec jump.

"S'ok…and yeah, time for the blood," Alec answered, his voice rough with disuse.

Bobby looked at him with concern, but he helped Alec get a needle into his arm and run the other end to Dean's arm. Alec watched as his blood traveled through the tube to Dean.

"How's Sam?" Alec asked after a moment as he rested his arm on the bed.

"Uhh…we put him in one of the other rooms and Ellen's with him now," Bobby answered.

"Is he awake?"

"Not that I know of…I'll go check," Bobby said quickly and he got up and walked out of the room.

Alec waited until he could hear Bobby talking to Ellen in another room before he decided he should try and talk some sense into Dean.

"Dean, I don't know if you can hear me or not…and you might laugh at me later for this, but that's ok…You need to wake up man, you gotta pull through. Sam needs you…I need you. You can't leave us here alone…"

Alec dropped his head into his free hand and ran it through his hair.

"I'm not good at this kind of thing…but you and Sam are the only family I have. If you die what are we supposed to do without you?"

Alec didn't know how to say what all was going through his head. No one had ever really trusted him until Sam and Dean came along. If Dean died, Alec didn't know what Sam would do but he didn't think he'd want to see his brother's clone everywhere he went. Alec didn't have anywhere to go; everyone he knew had disappeared. He could go at it alone, but he'd had a lonely existence and now he was sort of used to having a family. They cared about him, trusted him, call him selfish but he actually liked that feeling.

He kind of lost track of time, but it didn't matter; he'd do anything to make sure Dean would survive.

"Alec!"

Alec looked up in surprise at Bobby's concerned shout; it was the first time Bobby had actually used his name.

"What?" Alec asked slowly as Bobby rushed into the room and crouched down next to him.

"Ya idjit! You're just like those two; practically killin' yourself to save the other…" Bobby mumbled as he started to take the needle out of Alec's arm. Alec quickly grabbed Bobby's wrist to stop his motion.

"He needs more blood!"

"Alec, you can't give him any more, you've given him too much already," Bobby said gently.

"I can give him a little more," Alec quietly reassured.

Bobby shook his head, "No, I won't let you. Dean's tough, he'll pull through. You're way too pale already and Dean would probably kill me if anything happened to you."

"Bobby…"

"C'mon, you need to lie down," Bobby tried as he successfully removed the needle from Alec's arm.

"I won't give him any more blood, but I'm not moving," Alec stubbornly replied.

Bobby huffed out a breath, but he let Alec stay where he was and he left the room.

Alec dropped his head back into his hands; his head was pounding twice as hard now but he didn't know of a way to fix that. All he knew was that he wasn't going anywhere until Dean woke up.

* * *

More soon...


	11. Chapter 11

Alec didn't even bother looking up; he knew by the sound of the footsteps that Bobby was walking back in the room. His head felt like it weighed a hundred pounds anyway and he didn't want to put the effort in lifting it.

"Alright Alec, turn a little so you can face me," Bobby quietly commanded and Alec glanced to the side to see him put another chair beside his and sit down.

"Why?" Alec suspiciously asked, but he kept his head in his hands.

"You look like you just went to Hell and back and if you're not gonna move, then the patch job is comin' to you," Bobby stated as he set some supplies on the bed next to Dean.

Alec didn't really know where Bobby was going with this, but he was too tired to argue so he turned until he was facing him.

"Since it seems you're gonna follow in Sam and Dean's footsteps, and since they aren't able to keep an eye on you right now, I'll just have to be the one to pick up the slack," Bobby said. He picked up one of Alec's wrists and checked his pulse as he talked.

"You really don't have to do this, I'm fine," Alec said quickly once he figured out what was going on.

"Alec, you're almost as pale as the ghosts that we hunt, forgive me if I think you need a little lookin' after," Bobby said gruffly.

Bobby grabbed a little bag of Animal Crackers and put them in the hand he was holding. "Here, eat these, it might help with your blood pressure…"

"Why are you calling me by my name now?" Alec asked as he opened up the little bag and slowly ate one of the crackers.

Bobby hesitated, "I'm sorry about how I've been treatin' ya. I should have trusted Sam and Dean's instincts that you were a good kid, but I was worried about them…now I know I was wrong. If it wasn't for you neither of them would be alive right now, so I'm sorry."

Alec smiled a little, "I didn't blame you for thinking I was dangerous, in fact I told Dean a while back that he should listen to you…"

"Well, then I'm glad he didn't listen to either of us. He knows people better than anyone else I know and he knew right off that you were someone he wanted around."

Bobby continued his checking until he was completely satisfied that Alec was going to be ok. But even when he was done, he was still uncertain about leaving.

"You want something for the headache?" Bobby asked.

Alec shook his head no; he was afraid Bobby would slip him something to make him go to sleep. He couldn't go to sleep yet; he didn't want to miss it if Dean woke up and needed something.

"What's wrong with Sam?" Alec asked after a moment.

"He's got a pretty bad concussion, but I think he's going to be ok. We'll let him rest, that's the best thing for him right now."

Alec just nodded, but then Bobby continued, "You know, I'll watch over Dean if you wanted to get some rest too…"

"I'm good right here Bobby."

Bobby suddenly stood up, grabbed the chair, and walked out of the room muttering, "Freakin' Winchesters, already rubbed off on him…"

Alec smiled a little; it felt like he hadn't smiled in a long time and it surprised him that Bobby was the one to get him to do it.

He listened to Bobby's footsteps disappearing down the hall. He didn't really have anything else to do, so he made sure he paid attention to what was going on.

"Can you go talk to him?" Bobby asked. It was a little muffled since he was down the hall, but Alec wasn't going to start being picky, especially since he knew Bobby was talking about him.

"What makes you think he'll listen to me?" Ellen instantly asked back.

"You're a mother, maybe use that Mom voice to get him to go lie down," Bobby suggested, and Alec could hear the smile in the man's voice.

Ellen laughed, "Bobby, if he's anything like these two, then there's nothing that's going to get him to move except Dean waking up or Sam forcing him out of the room."

It was quiet while Bobby thought about that. "You're right…I've been going about this the wrong way…"

"I can hear you!" Alec called out so Bobby and Ellen could hear.

"Good! Maybe you'll actually listen!" Bobby yelled back.

"Think again old man!"

"He really is like Dean," Ellen said with a smile in her voice.

"I told you, that's why you should go talk to him."

"He won't listen to me, Bobby. You're gonna need Sam for this one."

That was fine with Alec. If Sam wanted to finally wake up he'd be all for it. But just let Sam give it his best shot at getting him out of this room.

* * *

Sam opened his eyes slowly; his head was pounding and he didn't know where he was. He could hear some voices outside the room, but he couldn't make out what they were saying. Everything that had happened suddenly came crashing back to him and he jumped to his feet. He had to find Dean!

He swayed, but he caught himself and headed for the door. He opened it a crack and saw that Bobby and Ellen were standing in the hall. They both looked up when he opened the door and Bobby started walking towards him.

"We were just about to check on you. How ya feelin'?" Bobby asked.

"Where's Dean?" Sam asked back.

Bobby almost rolled his eyes, but he motioned Sam to follow him down the hall. "You have a pretty bad concussion Sam; you need to take it easy."

Sam just ignored him and finally saw the open door where he could just see the edge of Alec's jeans. He pushed past Bobby and practically ran into the room.

Alec slowly stood up as he rushed in, but then he sank back down into the chair. Sam didn't stop to wonder what was going on with him because he saw Dean lying on the bed a second later and froze where he stood.

Dean was pale; he had bandages across his chest and an IV in his arm and he looked practically dead. He was so still Sam was afraid that he was dead, but then he saw Dean's chest rise and fall and Sam slowly released a breath of relief.

"What happened?" Sam demanded, and it didn't matter to him who answered as long as someone told him what was going on.

When no one answered him, he took his eyes off of Dean and looked around at Alec and Bobby.

Bobby had followed him into the room, but had stopped in the doorway. He was looking at Alec, who Sam was surprised to see was sitting with his head in his hands, refusing to look up.

"Alec, what happened? What's going on with Dean?" Sam was starting to panic. No one was answering him and he had no idea if Dean was going to live or not.

Bobby finally cleared his throat, "He lost a lot of blood, but Alec patched him up and gave him a blood transfusion so we're hoping he's going to pull through."

Sam didn't say anything; Dean might pull through, but they weren't for sure. How many times had he been here before? How many times had Dean been almost at death's door because of him?

"Sam, you should sit down…" Alec said quietly.

Alec started to stand up, but stopped at Bobby's glare. "You need to stay in that seat. I mean it Alec.

Alec sank back down and Sam looked to him in concern.

"Sam needs a chair though…" Alec mumbled.

"I know, I'll find him one," Bobby reassured and he left the room.

"Alec what's wrong?" Sam asked once Bobby was gone.

Alec just waved him off and tried to casually reply, "Nothin', I'm fine…"

Sam could instantly tell that he wasn't fine and was mad at himself for not noticing it sooner. Alec was almost as pale as Dean and the fact that he was sitting should have been the biggest clue of all.

"Let me take a look at ya," Sam said to try and gauge how badly Alec was injured.

"Bobby already cleared me so you don't have to do the whole doctor routine," Alec replied, but he put his head back in his hands as he said this.

Sam wasn't as gentle as he should have been as he turned Alec's chair to face him. Alec shot his head up in surprise and then closed his eyes in pain. Sam reached out and gently turned Alec's head. There was a gash above his ear and Sam carefully felt around until he felt a pretty big bump on the back of his head. He tilted Alec's chin up and watched as his pupils dilated and Sam knew Alec had a pretty bad concussion.

"How much blood did you give Dean?" Sam asked.

"I don't know exactly, and I don't know if it was enough," Alec admitted.

"Alec…" Sam wanted to groan sometimes with all the similarities that Alec shared with Dean. "You gave too much…you look terrible."

"I'm fine Sam," Alec tiredly replied.

"Alright, chair for you and a chair for me," Bobby said, placing two more chairs in the room.

Sam reluctantly sat down and split his attention between Dean and Alec.

"I'll catch ya up on what you missed during your Sleeping Beauty routine and then you need to talk some sense into Alec," Bobby stated and Sam was surprised to see that Alec didn't react at all to what Bobby said.

Sam nodded slightly so Bobby continued, "Dean killed the Demon; Alec distracted it long enough for us to close the doors and for Dean to get the Colt."

Sam looked down in shame at being the cause for the whole mess.

"Now listen to me Sam, you are not to blame yourself for this happening."

"Bobby, I'm the reason Dean's hurt, that hundreds of demons are now free, everything is my fault!" Sam shouted and he saw Alec flinch a little at his tone.

"No it's not! Just like it's not my fault my wife got possessed or Alec's fault that he was made into an assassin!" Bobby yelled back. "There are things you can't control!"

Sam wanted to storm out of the room, but he couldn't be away from Dean right now.

It was quiet in the room until Bobby spoke again, "Alec's taken care of Dean, and I think he's going to pull through. Now, Alec needs to lie down and he won't listen to me." Bobby looked at him and then looked at Alec and Dean and then back at him.

Alec stayed where he was with his head still in his hands, he didn't acknowledge that any of them were talking about him.

"C'mon Alec, you heard Bobby," Sam tried after a moment, but Alec didn't look up.

Sam stood up and gently shook Alec's shoulder. Alec squinted up and blinked slowly at him. Sam pulled up on Alec's elbow to help him stand, but his legs collapsed as soon as he was on his feet. Sam pulled Alec against himself and Bobby took a step forward in concern.

"M' alright," Alec mumbled. "I want to stay."

"No Alec. I'll watch over Dean and you're going to go lie down," Sam said in his no-nonsense voice.

Alec sank against him a little bit more in defeat and Sam led him down the hall to the room he had woken up in. Alec was practically out on his feet and as soon as he was in bed he was asleep.

"I'll keep an eye on him while you sit with Dean," Bobby suddenly said from the doorway.

Sam nodded; any other time he would have teased Bobby on his protectiveness over Alec, but he was too worried about Dean. He walked back down the hall and took up the chair Alec had been sitting in.

"Alright Dean, it's time for you to wake up," Sam quietly said once he was sitting next to Dean.

He picked up Dean's limp hand and held it in his own. He didn't care if Dean made fun of him later for it; he'd be happy with Dean's teasing as long as his brother woke up.

* * *

More soon...


	12. Chapter 12

Dean hated painkillers; they always made him feel disoriented and dizzy. But they were definitely working because he didn't feel the pain he thought he should be feeling. He was actually surprised that he was alive at all. He'd killed the Demon and he was at peace with the knowledge that Sam and Alec were going to be ok without him. He was sure that he was dying and now somehow he was alive. Or, at least, he thought he was alive.

"…but now Bobby's gotten super protective over Alec." Sam was talking to him, so he must still be alive. "I know you said they didn't get along, but seriously Bobby hasn't left Alec's side. I'm worried about him though, he hasn't woken up yet and I only expected him to sleep a few hours. It was nearly impossible to get him out of here so…I don't know…I just didn't think he'd sleep this long…"

Dean was happy to hear that Bobby and Alec were getting along, but he didn't like that something was wrong with Alec. Sam and Bobby were worried and Dean was afraid he hadn't killed the Demon soon enough. Sam also sounded exhausted and he figured that his little brother hadn't left his side either.

He realized after a moment that Sam had ahold of his hand and he knew that Sam had been worried about him. He wanted to say something or make a sound to let Sam know that he was alright, but he couldn't get his voice to cooperate. Now that he thought about it, he figured out that his eyes were still closed too. He needed to let Sam know he was ok so he would stop worrying, but that was going to be more difficult than he thought.

He finally settled on barely squeezing Sam's hand; anything was better than nothing.

Sam was instantly alerted by Dean's feeble squeeze, "Dean?"

It was a small victory, but it was enough to give him the strength to open his eyes. It was still a struggle, but the reward was worth it. Sam was sitting next to him, waiting patiently for him to wake up.

"Sam," Dean managed to breathe out and Sam's face lit up in a smile.

"Hey man, it's good to see ya."

"Wha' happ'ned?" Dean slurred.

"What do you remember?" Sam countered.

"I shot the Demon…then nothing…" Dean didn't want Sam to know that he'd been ready to die so he left that part out.

"Well, I was out for all of that, but Bobby told me what happened. Bobby and Ellen shut the doors and then the three of them managed to get us back here. Alec patched you up and then gave you a lot of blood. Almost too much blood…"

"Is he alright?" Dean instantly asked in concern.

Sam hesitated, "…I think so…we had to force him to go lay down, but Bobby's with him now…"

Dean trusted Bobby, but he wouldn't be completely reassured that Alec was ok until he saw him with his own eyes.

"Do you want something to drink?" Sam asked after a few minutes.

Dean nodded slightly and watched as Sam got up and walked toward the door. He hesitated in the doorway and looked back at Dean. "Sam, I'm alright. I'm not going to die just because you leave the room."

Sam gave him a small smile and then walked out the door. He wasn't gone long, but it was longer than Dean expected him to be gone.

"What took ya so long? Get lost on your way back?" Dean lightly teased.

"You want this water or not?" Sam teased back. "I stopped to let Bobby and Ellen know that you're awake."

"Did you check on Alec?"

"He's still asleep," Sam answered. He gently lifted Dean's head up and held the glass so he could get a drink. The water felt amazing on his parched throat and it was too soon when Sam pulled the glass away.

"Where are we anyway?" Dean asked. He didn't really care where they were, he just wanted to keep Sam talking so he didn't fall asleep.

"Some hunter friend of Bobby's owns it…Dean, maybe you should go back to sleep."

"I'm fine Sam," Dean replied, but Sam didn't look convinced.

"If you go to sleep now, maybe Alec will be awake the next time you wake up," Sam tried.

Dean turned his head a little so he could glare at Sam, which just made Sam laugh. He was getting tired, but he wasn't about to admit that to Sam.

"Hey, I have to tell you something," Dean said, making Sam raise his eyebrows in a question. "Did Alec ever tell you how he got his name?"

Sam's eyebrows drew together in confusion, "I don't think so…"

Dean smiled and Sam looked back at him uneasily. "I don't know if I should tell you or let you figure it out on your own."

"What is it? Tell me!" Sam instantly asked.

"I don't know…I think it'll be better if you figure it out on your own. Besides, you went to college; it shouldn't take you that long."

Dean smiled at Sam again and then snuggled down further into his pillow and closed his eyes. Sam huffed in annoyance, but Dean knew he wasn't going anywhere.

* * *

Alec knew he'd been asleep for a long time. He still felt really tired, but he was on a comfortable bed and he didn't really want to move. He could hear a low voice speaking, but it was all one sided and it took him a while to figure out that it was Bobby and that he was reading something out loud.

"'Good morning!' said Bilbo, and he meant it. The sun was shining, and the grass was very green. But Gandalf looked at him from under long bushy eyebrows that stuck out further than the brim of his shady hat. 'What do you mean?' he said. 'Do you wish me a good morning, or mean that it is a good morning whether I want not; or that you feel good this morning; or that it is morning to be good on?'"

Bobby continued to read, but Alec had no idea what he was talking about. He slowly opened his eyes which felt heavy with sleep. He carefully sat up and scooted back against the headboard while Bobby read.

"What are you reading?" Alec asked quietly, but he still startled the older man.

"You've never heard of 'The Hobbit'?" Bobby asked in surprise.

Alec shook his head and asked curiously, "What's it about?"

"Well it's about a Hobbit who goes with a bunch of Dwarves to go win back their home from a dragon. I found the book on one of the shelves out there. It's been years since I've read it, but it's still a classic. I wasn't doing anything and I didn't know if you'd ever read it or not…"

Alec cleared his throat, "Thanks…for reading it and you know…and staying with me…"

Bobby waved him off, but Alec was uncomfortable with the touchy feely moment so he decided to shrug it off with humor. "You'll probably have to start over though, I kinda missed the beginning."

Bobby laughed, "I will, but you needed the sleep. You probably need more, but I'm not gonna force ya."

Alec smiled a little, but then he asked, "How's Dean?"

"Sam said he woke up for a while, but that was a few hours ago."

Alec started to push himself up and Bobby was there a moment later to help give him support. He couldn't believe how weak he was; his legs were like jello and his vision went black as soon as he was standing. He was actually glad Bobby was there so he didn't end up on the floor.

"Just go slow ok?" Bobby quietly said.

"I'm good," Alec replied with a cocky smile, but he didn't shrug Bobby off.

They walked slowly down the hall and Alec tried to not lean against Bobby, but it was either lean against Bobby or lean against the wall and Bobby was helping him get to Dean faster.

Sam was sitting in the chair next to Dean's bed, but he stood up as soon as Alec and Bobby went inside. Bobby led him over until he could sink into the chair and he breathed out a sigh of relief. Just that short walk from one room to the next almost did him in.

"You alright?" Sam asked softly.

Alec nodded and then asked, "Is Dean ok?"

"I'm fine," Dean grumbled in a sleepy voice. "You two girls should stop worrying…"

"You shouldn't use 'girls' as an insult Dean," Ellen reprimanded from the doorway, making all of them look at her in surprise. "Besides, you need to be nice to the one who's cookin' your meals…"

Dean gave her a small smile and quickly apologized, "Sorry Ellen."

Ellen smiled and looked around the room, "You boys are lookin' a little worse for wear. I'll cook you guys somethin' to eat and then I'm going to go look for Jo."

Sam, Dean, and Bobby all looked up in surprise, but Alec had no idea who she was talking about.

"Who's Jo?" He asked curiously.

"She's my daughter. We had a fight a while ago and you boys made me realize how important it is to stick with your family," Ellen replied.

"Do you know where she is?" Alec didn't know why he cared so much, but he couldn't stop the questions from coming out of his mouth.

"I'll find her," Ellen confidently stated and then she walked out of the room.

Alec turned around again to face Dean, but he was surprised to find that Dean's eyes were already on him.

"How're ya feelin'?" Dean asked him.

Alec shrugged, "I'm alright, how about you?"

"Fine," Dean replied easily.

It was quiet in the room until Sam huffed, "You're both liars!"

"Not very good ones either…" Bobby muttered with a smile.

"Better than you!" Dean shot back.

"You've got a lot of catching up to do if you want to be as good as me," Bobby said.

Alec chuckled, "Dream on old man! I was made to lie!"

Bobby laughed, "You better watch it kid!"

"Or what? You better be careful, you might break a hip," Alec jokingly challenged and Bobby got up and ruffled Alec's hair. Alec lightly pushed him away while both of them laughed.

"Alright you two," Sam said as he laughed. "You better settle down before you hurt yourselves…"

Alec rolled his eyes and glanced at Dean, "Is he always like this?"

"It's getting worse," Dean replied.

Sam huffed in fake annoyance but he couldn't hide his smile.

They stayed up and chatted for a while, but Dean and Alec were both worn out and it didn't take long for them to get drowsy.

"Alright Dean, time to go back to sleep. Alec, you too," Sam stated quietly when he noticed Dean's eyes were drooping closed.

"I'm fine, I don't want to sleep yet," Dean complained.

"And I'm not into taking 'cat naps'," Alec muttered sarcastically.

Bobby chuckled, but Sam rolled his eyes and started to mutter, "Smart Ale-" He stopped in the middle and his eyes widened in surprise. He looked at Dean and started laughing, "Smart Aleck!"

Dean laughed and nodded. Alec didn't know what had gone on between them, but Sam had just figured out how he got his name.

"Alec, you heard Sam, time to go back to sleep," Bobby said after a moment.

"You're not going to watch me sleep again are you?" Alec teased.

"Hey, if you didn't play 'Let's see how much blood I can lose and live' then I wouldn't have to keep an eye on you!" Bobby replied.

"You know Sam, you don't have to watch me sleep either…it's gotten kinda creepy," Dean said with a smile.

Sam laughed, "Shut up and go to sleep."

Dean fake saluted, but then closed his eyes. Alec didn't argue after that; he was pretty tired and it had become a fight to keep his eyes open. Besides, he would sleep soundly now that he knew his family was safe.

* * *

Ending coming soon...


	13. Chapter 13

Sam tried his best not to look up when Dean walked in the room, but he failed. Dean glared at him, but he continued his slow walk into the kitchen. Sam was sitting at the kitchen table and no matter how much Dean had improved in the last few days he still couldn't shake the overprotectiveness he felt over his big brother.

Dean sat across from him at the table with two bowls of cereal. He slid the second bowl across the table and Sam gratefully pulled it the rest of the way over. Dean had healed a lot faster than Sam had expected and he knew it was due to Alec's enhanced blood. If it hadn't been for Alec, Dean would be dead.

Alec walked into the room a moment later; his hair was still damp from the recent shower he had taken. "What's for breakfast?" Alec asked as he sat in the chair between Sam and Dean. He was mostly back to normal, but he slept more then he usually did and he sometimes lost his balance and tried to cover it up. Bobby continued to keep an eye on Alec and all of them were just taking it easy.

Dean gestured to his bowl of cereal and Alec scrunched his nose in distaste. "What, now you don't like cereal?" Dean asked with a smile.

"I'd just prefer eggs and bacon," Alec replied. He got up and messed around in the kitchen while Sam and Dean watched him with curiosity. It wasn't long before the delicious smell of bacon filled the air and Sam's mouth watered.

"I didn't know you could cook," Dean said in surprise.

Alec shrugged and turned around, "I picked up a few things when I lived in Seattle…There's enough for everyone if you're not too full from your yummy cereal."

"Awesome. I knew there was a reason we kept you around," Dean said with a smile as he pushed his cereal away from him.

"What smells so good?" Bobby called out as he walked in from outside.

"Alec's cooking breakfast," Sam called back.

Bobby chuckled, "Shoulda known…is there anything you can't do?"

Alec thought for a second, "Not that I can think of…"

Bobby laughed but then sobered, "I'd love to stay, but I've gotta help an old friend on a hunt. The guy that owns this place said you boys can stay here as long as you want, so there's no rush on the road to recovery." Bobby looked at Dean and then Alec as he said this last part.

Sam stood up and shook Bobby's hand, "Thanks for everything Bobby."

Bobby shrugged and then pulled Sam in for a hug and then he did the same for Dean. He turned to Alec last who Sam was surprised to see looked kind of sad to see Bobby go.

Bobby walked towards Alec and handed him what looked like a book. "I bookmarked where we left off, but I want you to have this…"

Alec slowly took the book and said, "Thanks Bobby."

"C'mere," Bobby grumbled as he pulled Alec into a hug. "You take care of yourself, you hear?" Alec nodded and Bobby continued, "And keep an eye on those two…they're lucky to have ya."

"You're goin' soft on us," Alec said after a moment. "You take care of yourself too, alright?"

"I will," Bobby started walking towards the door and said over his shoulder, "Call me if ya need something."

* * *

It was quiet in the cabin after Bobby left and Dean was secretly glad to have this break away from their job. He was still sore and tired, but he was trying to cover it up so Sam would stop worrying. It wasn't working though, because Sam was keeping a close eye on him.

Sam and Alec were both in the living room when Dean got out of the shower. The TV was on, but Dean was surprised to see that Alec wasn't actually watching it. He knew Alec loved watching TV; he watched it constantly in every motel they stayed in. Instead, Alec was lounging in one of the arm chairs reading whatever it was that Bobby gave him.

Sam looked up at him as soon as he walked in the room and then immediately looked back down. Dean knew that he was trying to tone down the worrying, but it wasn't working so well.

Dean was itching to go somewhere or do something. He liked that they weren't on a job, but he didn't like just sitting around. But Sam had him and Alec on lockdown; if he wanted to do something he'd have to convince Sam first.

He caught Sam's eye and tilted his head toward the back of the cabin. Sam cocked his head to the side in confusion, but got up and followed Dean. Alec looked up briefly to see what was going on, but then he went back to reading.

Dean went to the very back of the cabin and then went out the back door. He didn't know if they were far enough out so Alec couldn't hear, he just hoped Alec was too into his book to pay attention.

"Dean what's going on? Why don't you want Alec to hear us?" Sam asked once they were both outside.

"Sam, me and Alec need some fresh air," Dean said slowly.

Sam looked around in confusion, "There's tons of fresh air here…"

"We need to go for a ride…I've got to talk to him about a few things…" Sam just looked at him in confusion so he continued. "I'm just making sure you're cool with us leaving for a little bit…You won't freak out or something since you're still worried."

Sam's mouth opened slightly in realization, "I'm fine with it as long as you don't stop at some bar." Dean started to protest but Sam cut him off, "Don't give me that dean. I know you and Alec can find trouble anywhere you go. Those are the conditions, take them or leave them."

"Alright fine, we won't stop at any bars. We'll just go for a drive and come right back."

Dean grabbed his keys on the way back to the living room. Alec was still in his armchair so Dean tossed the keys so they landed on his lap. He looked up in surprise, but he didn't make any indication of moving.

"C'mon, we're going for a drive," Dean said as he shrugged into his jacket.

Alec looked at Sam, probably to see if he was ok with this, and Sam smiled and nodded. Alec stood up slowly, grabbed his jacket, and followed Dean out the door.

Alec started to toss the keys back to Dean but Dean spoke before he could, "You're driving, I'm sitting shotgun."

"Dean-"

"Alec, I know you're afraid to drive. If you don't know how then I'll teach you right now and I won't tell Sam. By the time I'm done, you'll be good enough to drive circles around those Nascar drivers."

"I know how to drive," Alec mumbled quietly.

"Then what is it? Every time I ask if you want to drive, you refuse…"

Alec hesitated in answering, "…Dean…I'm a screw-up. Everything I touch breaks and this is too important to you for me to even get near…"

Dean smiled a little, "Alec you're not a screw-up and I know you won't break her. You're probably a better driver than Sam anyway. I trust you with my life Alec and my life is Sam, you, and this car and you already saved me and Sam." Dean would find some way to convince Alec that he could be trusted.

Alec still hesitated, but then he started for the driver's door. Dean smiled and got in on the other side. Alec looked over at him and smiled as he started the car.

"Just take it easy with her," Dean said when he saw the look in Alec's eyes.

"Better hold on," Alec stated as he threw the car in gear and took off down the road.

* * *

_The End_

_That's it for this story, I hope you all liked it! Thank you so much for all the reviews and for sticking with it. I am going to write another one in the family series, so if you liked this make sure you keep on the lookout! _


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